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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26040604">Captain Marvel and The Terrible-Horrible-No-Good-Very-Bad Year</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRatPrince2/pseuds/TheRatPrince2'>TheRatPrince2</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Unity of Infinity [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst and Feels, Developing Relationship, F/F, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Lesbians in Space, Military Homophobia, Post-Captain Marvel (2019), Post-Endgame, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sentient Infinity Stones (Marvel), Sexism</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 08:41:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,185</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26040604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRatPrince2/pseuds/TheRatPrince2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events of endgame, Carol Danvers continues her life saving different planets. But a gut feeling calls her back to her home planet where she learns of a bigger threat, and adventure finds her once again. Carol also makes friends along the way, and finds love (again).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Brunnhilde | Valkyrie/Carol Danvers, Carol Danvers &amp; Nick Fury, Carol Danvers &amp; Tony Stark, Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Unity of Infinity [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1890277</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Home Bound</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>There is a longer story line that I have planned (that focuses on a variety of characters) which takes place in the same universe, but I decided to start with Carol's story. Past events that have happened in this story line are mentioned, I will write about them eventually, but one story at a time.<br/>sorry for any spelling or grammar errors, I'm too tired to go back and revise.<br/>I will try my best to post a new chapter every week, but no promises.<br/>I hope you stick around for this journey, enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She stared down at the earth and sighed. Carol was returning from a mission somewhere near xandar. She looked at the clouds swirling lazily over the continents. Carol had been longing to return to her home planet for months now, but the closer she got, the more she realized it didn’t feel like home anymore. She looked behind her at all the stars and planets. The different galaxies that she’d been to felt so distant. Everything felt different from earth. Maybe it was that she knew she wouldn’t be able to run forever.<br/>
Carol took a deep breath as her helmet slid around her head. She charged photonic energy though her body and started flying into the atmosphere. The last time Carol was on earth was when the planet was threatened by a child with dark magic. (Strange was still figuring out where it came from. The anger and hate of the young girl had made the dark magic stronger, until she almost destroyed herself. Unfortunately she came back, revealing the true fate of Steve Rogers. A small group of heroes, Including Captain Marvel, were able to knock her down for good.) Carol felt her heart twist in her chest thinking about the girl, but that was the hard part of the job. It always is hard when your humanity is challenged day after day.<br/>
Carol was awakened from her thoughts by a ding of her pager. ‘Welcome back Captain Marvel’ She smiled. “I told you emergencies only, Fury”<br/>
Carol landed in front of the newly rebuilt Avenger’s compound, scaring a few pigeons.  She decided to take the main entrance since she hadn’t seen the new compound design. Carol pushed through the tall glass doors and stepped inside. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the modern interior. Tall ceilings with lots of lights, shiny metals as far as anyone could see, and blue tinted glass all around. Carol hadn’t even noticed all the other people in the lobby staring at her until a short woman in a light blue suit approached her.<br/>
“M-miss, uh, C-captain Marvel, ma’am” The woman stuttered a greeting, then adjusted her blazer “Are you lost? Or- um….” The woman briefly looked down at the ground, “You look surprised, t-that's all,” She smiled back up at Carol, then back at the ground sheepishly. “Sorry, I-I just never get a chance to interact with a-any of the Avengers.”<br/>
Carol held out her hand and smiled at the woman, “I’m not really lost, just never been here.” she said nonchalantly. The woman shook Carol’s hand. “Call me Carol.”<br/>
The woman's eyes lit up, “I’m Joanne.” The woman squeaked, clearly excited to be on a first name basis. “I c-could get you a map? Where are you heading? Or, er, looking to head?” Joanne tugged nervously at a piece of brown hair.<br/>
“I’d like to speak with Stark” Carol looked down at her arm band, another welcome back message, from Nat.<br/>
Joanne’s eyes widened. 
    “Well, I um, don’t have direct contact with M-Mister Stark, I mean,” Joanne adjusted her glasses while looking for the right words, “The next time he’ll be on the premises is next Monday. Until then I have no clue where to find him.” Joanne let out a small laugh then shrugged, trying to relax. “Is there anything else I can help you with?<br/>
Carol looked back at her arm band, then around the main room again.
     “Do you have time to give me a tour?”<br/>
Joanne smiled wide, and put her hands together in front of her face, then quickly threw them down to her sides to look professional again. “Yes! Of course! Where shall we start?”<br/>
Carol eventually ended up sitting on her bed in her assigned room. She looked over to the clock on the plain nightstand. 6:32. Carol pulled the pager from a pocket on her belt, and started constructing her message to fury. ‘I’ll be in town for a while, lunch tmr at 12?’ Carol roamed her large apartment like quarters. There weren’t many decorations, overall the room was plain. Carol liked it because if she chose to stay here, she could make it her own. But if she wanted to leave there’s nothing to be too attached to. Carol looked over to the wall to her right, then started approaching the painting.<br/>
“I’ll take it Tony designed the rooms,” Carol mused to herself.<br/>
“Yes,” Another voice spoke, “Mister Stark spent a lot of time making sure everyone would feel comfortable in their rooms,” Carol jumped and charged energy into her left fist.<br/>
“Hello?” Carol looked around at the empty room.<br/>
“Good Evening Miss Danvers, I’m Friday, an AI created by Tony Stark. I run the compound and can answer any questions you might have.”<br/>
Carol looked up at the ceiling relaxing her hand, “So like a robot butler?”<br/>
“Close enough, but Friday makes me somehow smarter than I already am, I would forget my own birthday if not for her.”<br/>
Carol smiled at Tony’s voice over the speaker. “Long time no-check-in-call twinkle toes. Friday alerted me you were back. What are you up to?” Tony was still very Tony Stark like, even in retirement.<br/>
Carol walked over to the red couch that rested against the wall that was mostly glass and flopped onto her back. “Hoping for a short break, seeing family, the usual visits.” Tony let out a short laugh and Carol rolled her eyes, despite him not being able to see her.<br/>
“Sorry it’s just, you never want to take a break, Danvers. Always working, kicking alien ass so I don’t have to, exploring galaxies. Just space ranger things”<br/>
“I don’t know Tony, maybe there is some other reason I came back.” Carol rested her head on the arm rest and threw her leg over the back of the couch. “It’s like I was being called home,”<br/>
Tony dropped something and sighed, “I know the feeling,” There was a tapping sound at his end of the call, “But everyone needs breaks, real breaks,” Carol fidgeted with her gloves. She looked out the window at the setting sun, longing to be able to fly away from her problems forever. Carol heard Morgan calling for Tony in the background. “Well, I gotta scram before Morgan screams my ears off,” Carol thought of Monica when she was little, and how close they had been, how close they had been as a family before Carol left. Her heart sank a little more. “You gonna be alright tinkerbell?”<br/>
Carol saw her pager flash in the other room, “Yeah. Thank you Tony.”<br/>
“Will I be seeing you tomorrow?” Tony picked up Morgan, “Pepper’s cooking, not me, I promise.”<br/>
“Yeah, see you then Tony.” Carol looked at the painting again. Of course it was tony who decorated her room, only Tony would give her that trashy painting of Iron Man and Captain Marvel flying back to back in space.<br/>
As Carol slowly started to get up, she started to feel the weight of the day seep into her bones. She smoothed back her hair as she walked back to her bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the bed again, she scooped up her pager. ‘Yes. see you at 12’ Carol let a small smile spread across her face. She missed Fury a lot. Especially with her being gone for 30 years, then the blip. The last time they talked was when all the Avengers were together in Wakanda after the Great Battle of Earth when they almost lost Tony. But then wasn't a great time to catch up. Or the time when Carol was defending the milky way from a traumatized 17 year old girl who was tricked into feeding a powerful dark magic. Plus, Carol was a busy woman, who had recovery work in far out galaxies too.<br/>
Maria was the person she’d missed the most. Her caring eyes and gentle smile. The way she’d laugh at Carol’s bad jokes. The way she would kiss Carol like the world was ending (In her defence she felt like it was around Carol). Carol missed their secret cuddles back in their air force days. Carol missed family movie nights and playing with Monica. Carol missed going out to local diners with Maria when Monica was at school. Carol missed her family.<br/>
Carol closed her eyes. Guilt was eating at her stomach. She doesn’t have a good reason, or any reason, for why she never came back to visit. Maybe it was the pressure of existing, or the fear of being found out. Carol thought of how she was going to apologize to the love of her life. Maria deserves the world, and yet Carol still put off going to see her, instead hiding away where no one would see her. Would Maria accept her apologies? Does Maria even walk to talk to her? Does Maria even remember her?<br/>
Carol quickly blinked the tears from her eyes. “Things to do, places to be,” She whispered to herself before heading to the bathroom for a much needed shower. The water hissed, hitting the floor of the shower. Carol splashed cold water from the sink as she waited for the water to heat up. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was messy and her suit was covered in dirt and grime. Carol messed with her hair. It had become shoulder length again and was becoming hard to manage with her busy lifestyle. She looked at the reflection, it was still the same girl from 30 years ago. Carol slowly touched her face, thinking of how her blood isn’t red like it’s supposed to be. Thinking of how she isn’t completely human anymore.<br/>
Carol took a deep breath and pushed herself away from the mirror, trying to convince her body to move. Carol headed back to her bedroom and sifted through all the provided clothes for something to wear for the night. Tony’s words rang in her head. ‘Everyone needs breaks. Real breaks.’ She just wanted rest. Good rest, without feeling guilty. Just for a few days at least. Carol knows what she does is good, and she’s happy to do it, but the long days flying for false alarms gets tiring. She wants something interesting to happen again.<br/>
“You’re not as strong as you think you are,” a solid kick hit Carol in the chest, “You won’t ever do anything right.” The mocking voice kept yelling at Carol. She tried to blast it away, but her vision became blurred. Carol kept getting hit from all angles. She tried to fight back, but she was powerless, swinging her fists at nothing. Her legs got swept out from beneath her and she fell hard on her back. “You’re weak,” It continued, “useless,” another kick, “You’re nothing without your powers.” Carol felt like she fell through the floor and ended up in the crash sight from 1985. Yon-Rogg raised his weapon at her, “You’re foolish,” he shot, but Carol leaped out of the way. “You’re good for nothing,” another shot, “There’s no point in trying to believe you’re worth something,” This time his shot didn’t miss.<br/>
Carol shot up in bed, gasping. Her heart was racing. She looked at the clock, 4:30. Carol dropped down onto her back and groaned as she draped her arms over her face. “Why can’t I ever sleep,” Carol whined to herself. She turned over pulling the blanket up to her neck. She glared at the wall with a blank face. She breathed deeply to try and stop her heart from pounding and closed her eyes again. “Just think normal thoughts, normal thoughts. Normal.” Carol told herself.<br/>
She slowly opened her eyes, gentle sunlight washed over the room. Carol rolled over and looked at the clock, 7:22. “I can work with that.” Carol lifted the blanket off her and stretched her arms above her head. She stepped onto the cold floor and yawned. Carol ran her hands through her hair as she quietly stepped over to the dresser, in which her suit was sitting on top of. Carol dug through the pockets and located the map Joanne had given her. She laid it down on top of the wood, and pressed her hands over it to try to smooth the creases. She studied it for a moment, then got dressed in her workout clothes and set off to start the day.<br/>
Carol walked down the hall, taking in the sight of the gorgeous architecture. It was quiet, not a lot of people, and the ones who do stay at the compound were clearly asleep.<br/>
Carol stepped into the main kitchen, and found Natasha sitting on the counter stirring her coffee, while chatting with Steve, who just came back from his morning run. Natasha noticed Carol first, then waved and smiled. “Welcome back Danvers, it’s been a while” Steve greeted Carol.<br/>
“Come join us, I was just telling Steve about how Clint got stuck in the vents yesterday,” Natasha may have a frightening appearance at first glance, but she is a huge softy. Particularly towards her dumb co workers. “Coffee?”<br/>
“Yes, please,” Carol turned to look up at Steve, “Rogers.” Carol had idolized the military legend of Captain America since she was a young girl. She even remembered the ridiculous Captain America comics she liked to read. But Steve was nothing like they portrayed him. Steve is a troublemaker, who breaks rules. Among many others, that was a big reason Carol admired him.<br/>
Natasha handed the steaming cup of coffee to Carol. “So what do you think of the new compound?” Natasha had her long red hair in 2 french braids flowing down the back of her head, and she was wearing black sweatpants, and a hoodie with the shield logo of the back.<br/>
Carol sipped her coffee “Big,” she rested her back on the counter and felt the warmth of the cup seep into her hands. “With a lot of tech I don’t quite understand,”<br/>
Steve laughed, “I know how that feels, I don't know what anyone’s talking about half the time.” Steve headed to the fridge to get another bottle of water, “A lot of beeping.”<br/>
“He’s still learning,” Natasha told Carol, “An old dog can still learn new tricks,” Steve squinted at her with a playful scowl. Natasha rolled her eyes. “So what are you up to today?” She asked Carol while finishing her coffee.<br/>
“Catching up with Fury over lunch” Carol set her cup down.<br/>
Steve looked at her confused. “You knew Fury?” Natasha looked at Steve, then back to Carol.<br/>
Carol slowly smirked, “Yeah, met him in 95’ while Earth got attacked by aliens. Saved his ass multiple times.” Carol watched Steve’s jaw drop. “What? Did he never mention me?” Carol said, still grinning.<br/>
“No.” Steve answered first. “He’s not the most….” Steve paused, looking for the right words. “Social….”<br/>
“He told only me he became serious after losing his eye, I think I remember him talking about aliens in the 90's” Natasha lifted herself onto the counter again. “He told me that's how he lost his eye”<br/>
Carol started laughing, “Really?” Natasha nodded. “Well, technically he did lose his eye to an alien,” Steve looked at Natasha, puzzled. “But it wasn’t in an awesome battle, he lost his eye because he didn’t leave the cat alone.” Carol started laughing again.<br/>
“Nick had a cat?”<br/>
“There were aliens on earth before the attack of 2012?”<br/>
Carol hastily drank the rest of her coffee. “I’ll bring him back here at 1:30, and I’ll have him tell the story himself,” Carol put her empty mug into the dishwasher, “But I gotta fly now, I’ll see you guys later.” Carol waved goodbye and headed towards the private gym.<br/>
Again Carol continued her journey through the halls. Being alone gets boring, Carol was glad to be surrounded by people who care about her and are supportive. There was still something she was missing. A feeling that she couldn’t describe. A sense of worry that wouldn’t leave her mind. Something was going to change, she knew it, she felt it. Her time of aimlessly surfing the stars was coming to a close.<br/>
Carol stepped down the stairs and gently pushed open the door at the bottom. She slowly poked her head into the room of vast equipment. Although she was glad to be around the others, she still preferred to do things on her own. Satisfied with her observation, Carol walked into the gym. It was a large open room with a high ceiling. Windows lined the top half of the walls. To her right were weights of various sizes. To her left, and indoor track and mats for sparing and group training. In the back of the room laid at least 6 of every workout machine you could ever dream of. Carol found herself in a separate room that held punching bags and dummies, along with a boxing ring.<br/>
Wrapped fists hit the bag with a satisfying thud. Punch after punch she felt energy start to serge through her veins. Carol breathed fast as her heart sped up. Her hands radiated a soft glow, burning brighter with each hit. She thought back to her dreams last night, Yon-Rogg’s taunting, the insults by men in the air force. That was long ago, she knew that. The power swirled around her wrists. Carol used to feel weak and helpless when they would sneer at her. Carol knows she’s strong. Powerful. Fearless. There was fire in her eyes long before the fire was ever in her fists. She pounded the bag, harder and harder with each hook and jab. The anger wound up in her chest. She is tough. As mighty as the stars. She is the one in charge of who she is, and knows what's right. The one who was born with a fighting spirit. Who knew her worth wasn’t measured by strength, or what drunk douche bags say. She knows no one will dare walk over her ever again, and will fight every battle with just as much grace and dignity as the last. She knows who she is. She is Captain Marvel.<br/>
Carol briefly closed her eyes and slammed her right fist into the leather with her full force, letting out a blast of light. The bag flew across the gym with a crack, and hit the wall before sinking to the ground. She glared at the split and spilling bag panting as she felt a wave of satisfaction. Carol tilted her head up and let out a small noise of triumph.<br/>
“That’s not something you get to see everyday,” Carol jumped and turned around to face one of the most beautiful women she’s ever seen. “I’ll make sure to stay off your bad side.” Carol blushed. “I’m Valkyrie.”<br/>
“Carol,” She started to unwrap her hands. Avoiding eye contact.<br/>
Valkyrie shifted her weight as she looked at Carol, “If you want, you could join me on the track for some laps.” She pointed towards the door.<br/>
Carol stuttered “I’d love to but uh, I’m busy, I mean-” Carol looked down at the ground, flustered by Valkyrie's invite. “I have to go.” She blurted out awkwardly. Carol continued looking  down and tensed her shoulders as she walked past Valkyrie to leave, she was relieved when the interaction ended at that.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Stars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Carol's sad. That's pretty much it.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>there is probably continuity errors so just like ignore that ahhaha</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Stop laughing! It’s not funny!” Carol said a little too loudly for the diner they were in. She was relieved to see Fury after all these years, even though he was definitely going to make fun of Carol for her interaction with Valkyrie. Carol narrowed her eyes and pushed a sugar packet back and forth on the table while she waited for him to calm down.</p><p>Fury pushed his drink over to the right, “I just think it is completely ridiculous that one of the most badass and powerful motherfuckers I’ve ever known, can’t handle a conversation with a woman.”  Carol rolled her eyes</p><p>“Whatever,” She playfully kicked him under the table.<br/>
The waitress came and took their orders. Carol started to get a good look at her friend and saw how much he had changed since their exciting weekend in 1995. The nice woman taking their orders left. “What’s with the shades?” Fury looked at her, confused. Carol panned her finger up and down, “The whole homeless look,” She rested her back against the booth cushion, “Did you lose your job or something?” Carol smirked</p><p>He frowned at her, as she took a long sip of her Pepsi, “Technically yes,” he folded his hands together on the table. Carol nodded, wanting to hear the rest of his story. “And my life,”   Carol set her glass down on the table again and her face shriveled. “How does that work? Can I see ghosts now or something?”</p><p>“Well, when you get shot 3 times in the chest by an assassin with memory issues, it’s best to stay dead than risk another 3 bullets.”<br/>
Carol stared blankly at him. “I am no less confused.”<br/>
“You need to catch up on your history lessons,” their conversation died as the waitress brought them their food. </p><p>“How’s Goose?” Carol asked eventually.<br/>
Fury smiled “Goose is Goose.” he said with a shrug, “She misses you.”<br/>
“Of course she does,” Carol looked out the window at the passing traffic and brushed a hand through her hair.<br/>
Fury thought for a moment. “If you wanted to, you could keep her with you while you’re here on Earth.” Carol’s attention snapped back to him. “Goose could use a good adventure, and you look like you could use the company”<br/>
“Thanks, Nick,” Carol beamed.<br/>
The pair ate the rest of their meal with small talk. Carol talking about what it’s like on different planets and Fury sharing stories about the other Avengers.</p><p> Right before their departure, Carol remembered her conversation in the kitchen from that morning. “How about you come back to the compound with me? Natasha and Steve wanted a storytime” she asked as Fury put on his coat.<br/>
He checked his watch, “I don’t see why not.”</p><p>When Carol returned to the compound she found Steve and Natasha in the main lounge, but they weren’t alone.<br/>
“You didn’t tell me it was going to be a party,” Fury said to Carol as he walked over to hug Natasha. On one couch sat Wanda, Scott, Steve, and Bucky. Clint was sitting on the floor in front of the second couch which sat Natasha. And just as fate would have it Valkyrie was there as well.<br/>
“Trust me,” Natasha walked back over to her chair, “If it were a party I would’ve bought alcohol,” she sat down and rested a leg on Clint’s shoulder.<br/>
Clint tilted his head back to look at her, “But you brought vodka?”<br/>
Natasha gently tapped him on the head, “I would've brought alcohol to share,” she told him sincerely.<br/>
Steve shot her a ‘disappointed mother’ look while Wanda tried not to laugh. Natasha gestured for Fury and Carol to sit next to her, “Plus I thought it would be more fun as a larger group.”<br/>
“In my defense Nick, no one told me it was going to be a party either,” Carol sat down at the opposite end on the couch as Natasha.<br/>
“Well everyone was here, thought we might as well enjoy some bonding time.” Natasha carelessly stated braiding a strand of hair, “Nick, you’ve met Wanda and Bucky,”<br/>
“I have.” Fury crossed one leg over the other and leaned back while looking at the ex-assassin. Steve put a defensive arm around Bucky.<br/>
Natasha continued with roll call, “Then we have Scott and Valkyrie.” Scott waved, Valkyrie nodded. </p><p>Fury started to tell the tale of when ‘Vers’ crashed landed on earth, but Carol found herself mesmerized by the queen of Asgard who was leaning against the back of the other couch. She had her long dark hair in braids that formed a bun at the top of her head. She wore a loose grey sweater and black leggings.<br/>
They must have gotten to an interesting part in the story as the room got quiet and the group collectively looked at Carol. </p><p> 	“Remember the Skrulls at the train station?” Fury asked carol.<br/>
She snapped back to attention and after a brief thought, smiled at the memory “It was hella fly,” Carol responded, “Even though I had no clue what was going on and almost punched a random guy.”<br/>
“There are green shapeshifting aliens just roaming around?” Scott asked. “Shouldn't we do something about that?”<br/>
Carol and fury looked at each other, “Well, not so much anymore, most of them are back is space” she nudged Fury, “plus they’re not that big of a threat,”<br/>
“Maybe not that much of a treat for you,” Fury countered her statement, “Any Kree could take 10 at once,”<br/>
“Not that we would want to fight the Skrulls,” Carol added.<br/>
“But aren’t they the bad guys?” Wanda spoke, “Since you were fighting them?”<br/>
“You’re Kree?” Valkyrie blurted out before Carol could answer Wanda.<br/>
“Yeah, technically,” Carol saw Valkyrie's eyes widen, “When I got my powers, the explosion would’ve killed me, but the Kree who found me took me back to Hala and gave me Kree blood.” She explained, “So half Kree.” Carol let out a sigh of relief when Valkyrie looked impressed rather than mad.  Carol deals with the Kree’s past actions often, which starts more fights then she wants. </p><p>	Fury continued the story by telling the group about the Skrull autopsy. Carol noticed Valkyrie looking at her. She smiled and started walking over. Valkyrie sat herself down on the armrest next to carol. “You did all that?” Valkyrie whispered to Carol, “It’s really something.”<br/>
Carol turned her face down and tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear, “Thanks,” she glanced back up and met Valkyrie's gentle smile. `The chatter of the room got more distant with every second. Carol could feel her heart pounding and the butterflies making her stomach feel like it would burst. The last time she felt this was-<br/>
“I really mean it,” Valkyrie dipped her head down a little to look back into Carol’s deep hazel eye. She leaned back and listened for a moment. The Asgardian Queen cocked her head and looked around at the other heroes in the room.<br/>
Clint at some point had gotten popcorn and Natasha was putting a mass amount of butterfly clips in his hair. Scott was completely transfixed in the story, eyes wide and jaw dropped. Wanda played with a little ball of energy she summoned up with one hand while she rested her head on her other hand. Steve had his arms wrapped tightly around Bucky, while he looked as if he were about to fall asleep. Valkyrie didn’t know any of these people all that well, but she admired and respected all of them.<br/>
And then she looked back down at the woman by her side and felt her heart swirl. Carol held her own hands tightly together on her knees with her shoulders tense. Valkyrie drank in a breath of air, “I didn’t mean to startle you in the gym this morning,” she noticed pink flush onto Carol’s cheeks, “I should’ve said something when I entered since you were there alone and probably weren’t expecting anybody and I-”<br/>
“It's okay, you don’t need to apologize. I was the one who acted like a complete idiot.” they both laughed and Carol relaxed a little, “You kicked ass in the battle,” she complimented not knowing what else to say, “Does your pegasus have a name?” Valkyrie laughed at the question.<br/>
“Well,” Fury spoke to Carol, “that concludes my side of the story, do you have anything to add, Miss Fire Ball?”<br/>
“Yeah, there’re a few details you got wrong,” she smirked and openly gestured with her hands. Fury scoffed. Carol proceeded to tell the rest of her spiel with great passion. The memories still felt fresh in her mind. The warm breeze on the day she found Maria again, the euphoria of flying for the first time, and how it felt to be free from the Kree, but it also came with the pain of worse memories. She tried to skip over the hard parts, but that didn’t mean they didn't skim her mind. But the others wouldn’t know that not just yet. She didn’t want to darken their bonding night with pain and trauma. She didn’t want to think about it yet. Not today.</p><p>The group didn’t start to separate until a while after Carol finished. Of course, Scott had a lot of eager questions, then Natasha shared some stories, then Steve. But eventually, the individuals trickled out of the room to continue the rest of their night.<br/>
Carol retired to her room, which felt more and more like where she belonged with every second and got ready to see Tony. God, she missed him. Tony was like the brother Carol never knew she needed. She often teased him about how he’s the mom of the group (to which he replied “The only Avenger whose mother I am is Peter.”).</p><p>Birds sang and flew outside. “At least life is back to normal” her suit still lay unmoved on the dresser, “ish…” Everything was changing but still felt the same. The stones were once again missing yet the whole universe was hunting them down. People still sang, but some with sorrow. Why can The Avengers raise the dead but not save everyone?</p><p>Carol crossed one arm over the other and bit anxiously at her nails. “If I can’t make everything right,” Carol suddenly threw her hands up, “Then I’ll work on making the important things right.” she sifted through her vacant closet for something nice to wear, “Starting with dinner, then Monica and Mom,” her breath caught in her throat and she gripped the 2 shirts in her hands a little harder and sighed, “Then Maria,” she chose a striped top, “Then the universe,” Carol put a hand on her hip and tilted her chin up while she balanced the hanger on a finger, “Easy. If I can fight space squids and demons, I can repair my relationships.”<br/>
She laced up her boots and headed off.</p><p>“That is absolutely ridiculous, little miss,” Tony picked up a pinecone and gently tosses it at Morgan, “you can not go to space with auntie Carol,” Morgan pouted, “She probably doesn’t even have a valid license to fly.”<br/>
“Technically you don’t either Tony,” Morgan laughed at Carol’s quip, and Tony threw Carol an unimpressed look. The 2 adults sat on either side of a small round table on the porch while Morgan ran around ‘fighting aliens’. It felt like home. A small happy family secured by trees. The green leaves swayed in the breeze and the lake lapped at the sand.<br/>
Tony peered at her over his glasses, “A recluse life is great. A wife, a daughter,” he looked down at his prosthetic, “Retirement... It’s perfect.” Tony had just barely survived his snap, leaving him with permanent damage.<br/>
Carol nodded and looked up at the sky. “You deserve this Tony. You’ve done your fair share of world-saving.” She heard Morgan giggle at a frog. Carol looked at the ground, then back up to Tony, who was still staring at her.<br/>
“Just because I’m done,” Tony waved his left hand at the scarring on his face, “doesn’t mean I can ever be done.” According to the public, Tony was dead. He always defies odds and survives when he shouldn’t. But Tony still worked towards the benefit of the Avengers (they were a family after all) as well as better tech for national and worldwide security. He found the best balance between work and family. Tony flicked his eyebrows up, “I have a good system.” Morgan came back to join them.<br/>
“I beat the pirate aliens and saved the world!” Tony lifted his daughter onto his lap.<br/>
“Pirate aliens? That’s impressive!” He wrapped his arms around her tight.<br/>
Carol pursed her lips, “You know I’ve never been one for stability,” she said somewhat mournfully. Tony shook his head in understanding.</p><p>Carol flew out into the sky after saying goodbye to Tony and Pepper. She sat in orbit surrounded by the stars that were supposed to give her guidance. She didn’t want to return to the compound. She didn’t know where she was supposed to go or what she was supposed to do now. She thought about ascending into the empty void of space again, leaving without a word. Nothing felt right</p><p>	“If they find out, we’re done for. It was hard enough to convince them to even let us train. We’ll get discharged, I can’t let that happen.”<br/>
“It won’t. I promise Maria. Nothing’s gonna happen,” Carol reached over into the passenger’s seat and cupped her girlfriend’s face in her hands. She tried to suppress warm tears. “It’s you and me, forever,” her voice broke “I promise,” Maria gently rested a hand on Carol’s wrist. The sun had long set, and the only light came from the street lights lining the parking lot. “I won’t let anything happen to you,”<br/>
“You’re such a sap,” Maria spoke quietly. She had clearly been crying, “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” They closed the gap between them with a long-overdue kiss. It was soft and sweet, yet filled with pain and fear.<br/>
Carol pulled away first, then rested her forehead against Maria’s. She breathed deeply, indulging in the scent of the person she loved the most. “Were gonna be okay.” </p><p>Carol wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. “I promised…” she tried to suppress a sob. “Oh Maria, I’m so so so so sorry,” she covered her eyes and swallowed hard. Guilt ate at her heart. Carol clenched her fists and tried to catch her breath. The sun made her eyes glisten and her hair glow a beautiful gold. “I’ll do my best to make things right.”</p><p>Boots hit wet grass as Carol lowered herself to the ground. The air was damp and quiet, except for a cricket hiding somewhere. time seemed to stop as fireflies danced around. She carefully walked to a spot she’s only ever been to once but had the route perfectly memorized.<br/>
As soon as she found it, Carol fell to her knees, sobbing. She fell forward, letting her head rest on the ground and hit her hand on the dirt, sending sparks into the grass. </p><p>She stayed that way until both her legs became static beneath her. Eventually, Carol lifted herself off the earth and shifted her legs. She reached out a shaking hand and touched the cold stone that was in front of her. She traced the carved letters with her thumb. “I’m so sorry Maria, this was all my fault,” tears rolled down her face, “I should’ve been there for you,” she cried hard enough that her throat burned. So much suppressed grief anger and guild coming out at once. “I’m sorry I didn’t apologize sooner, and I’m sorry I just left. I’m sorry for so many things-” her shoulders shook as she cried, “I only wanted to protect people, but who am I if I can’t save the woman I love,” Carol closed her eyes as tight as she possibly could, “and I don’t want to move on. I can’t. Not when I failed you. Not when I promised to protect you. Not when I need you.” Carol silently wept over Maria’s headstone and let time consume her.</p><p>“Carol, I’ll be fine. You don’t need me holding you back anymore,” Maria grasped the taller woman’s hands.<br/>
Carol looked angry, “No. No, I am not- I won’t,” she searched for the words, “Maria, you are not holding me back. I love you, so much.” her heart ached.<br/>
Maria held her gaze, “Carol, look at me, I’m old” Carol tried to argue but Maria squeezed her hands to prevent her from speaking, “there are probably a bunch of other space ladies that you can send the rest of your life with, that you can be happy with.”<br/>
“Maria I’m not going to leave you for some space chick! You are the love of my life! I won’t leave you.”<br/>
“I love you too, but I know you’re busy, and you come around as often as you can,” Maria bit her lip trying to get her voice her thoughts, “but you’re never here. I know you try your best, but I’m just a thorn in your side, there are more important things than me.”<br/>
Carol was not having it. “There is nothing in this universe more important than you.” She pulled Maria into a tight hug, “I’ll always need you.”<br/>
Maria rested her head on Carol’s chest. She could hear her quick heartbeat. “You’ve always been so stubborn,”</p><p>“Ma’am?” Carol startled, looking up towards an older man in blue overalls, “Are you alright?” She squinted against the bright light of the sun.<br/>
“Yeah. Yeah,” she re-positioned herself with one knee to her chest. She still felt the lines where tears ran down her face, “What time is?”<br/>
The man looked at his watch, “Almost 7,” Carol studied the headstone again, and furled her eyebrows in confusion.<br/>
“Miss?” he called her again.<br/>
“I’m okay, yeah, just, must’ve fallen asleep,”<br/>
The man slowly sat down next to her, “Did you lose someone?” he sympathized.<br/>
Carol blinked a few times to prevent her feeling from spilling out, then cleared her throat, “My girlfriend,” she froze when she realized what she said.<br/>
“I’m sorry, that must be hard,” he spoke gently, “I remember how it felt when my wife died,” he gave Carol a gentle smile, “but the world spins on. It stings, but we can only do so much,”<br/>
Carol sighed and nodded, relieved he didn’t think much of her loving another woman. “Thank you.” She climbed to her feet and reached out a hand to help the man up. “I better go, I still have someone else to see,”<br/>
He reached out his and Carol shook it, “It was a pleasure meeting you,”  The man watched as she flew off into the sky.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>(yes the old man in the cemetery was Stan Lee)<br/>I didn't mean to make this chapter so sad, but we'll FINALLY be getting into the ass-whopping next chapter, I promise</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Enemies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Carol meets up with an old friend, and an old not-so-friend.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Slight WandaVison spoiler warning?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Carol clumsily landed on the concrete outside an apartment building. She fumbled with a small piece to make sure she was in the right place. She looked up at the towing rows of windows and bricks. She glanced around at the empty streets and stepped inside the complex. Carol quickly found her way into the elevator. “5th floor….” she said to herself as she pressed the button.</p><p>She anxiously walked down the silent hall, counting each number on the door until she stopped at 208. Carol crumpled up the paper in her hand and started pounding at the door. The echo felt like it rippled through her whole body. Eventually, she heard a string of colorful swears come from the other side of the door. A very angry ball of curly brown hair appeared in front of her. </p><p>“What the fuck do you-” the face in which kept the fluff ball widened in shock.<br/>
“Surprise? I guess I should’ve bought coffee, maybe bagels or-” Carol was cut off by arms wrapping around her, “Ack, that- that is- you are stronger than I remember- Oh no put me down, down. down,” Carol struggled in the other girl’s grasp, “Are you trying to suffocate me? Ugh, I’m dying now, you've killed me,” her feet met the floor again and was met by the brightest smile the world had ever seen. “Good morning, lieutenant trouble,”<br/>
“Auntie Carol! I missed you so much!”  The fully adult Monica hugged her again, “I haven’t seen you in forever, what took you so long?” </p><p>“Er, space traffic?” Carol shrugged.</p><p>“Come in, come in,” Monica released her embrace, “I’ll make breakfast,” she stepped aside to let Carol in, “and by breakfast I mean cornflakes,” </p><p>Carol looked around Monica’s apartment. The floor had boxes scattered all over, the walls were bare, and the only decorations were her possessions spilled on the floor. “Moving?” Carol asked as she picked up a frame, holding a picture of her, Maria, and Monica. </p><p>Monica set two paper bowls down on the counter, and searched a box for cereal, “Yeah, moving closer to where I work,” she dumped the crisp flakes into each bowl “The commute is much better.”<br/>
Carol met her back in the kitchen as Monica got the milk, “What exactly are you doing at the moment?” </p><p>Monica slid a bowl over to her “aunt” and sat on the island, “Well, I'm still working for S.W.O.R.D, which has been pretty intense,” she aggressively stabbed at her bowl, “I started a space program, solved some problems down in Jersey,” she slurped milk off her spoon, "It's a very normal 9 to 5" Monica chuckled “What brings you back home?”</p><p>Carol tightened her grip on the spoon, “It was just…. Time for a break,” she told Monica. </p><p>“Yeah, you clearly need one,” Monica stated, “You look like shit,” she said with her mouth full. Carol smacked her hands down on the granite counter and rolled her eyes. Monica snorted.</p><p>“You don’t look that much better yourself,” she flicked a cornflake at Monica and gave her a mischievous grin, “have you even slept in the past week?”</p><p>“Actually not really,” Carol looked at her with concern, “I’ve definitely had enough RedBull in the past few days to kill a horse,” she ran her hands through her hair, “I completely forgot I have to be out of here by Tuesday, and the movers are coming Monday to get the boxes so-” she reached her arm out to gesture to the mess of a living room, “I’m in a bit of a time crunch,” she brought the bowl up to her lips to drink the milk left in the bowl.</p><p>“So when was the last time you got a full night’s sleep?”<br/>
“I slept like, 2 hours? Yesterday? I think?” Monica hopped off the counter and stuffed her bowl into an overflowing garbage bag. Carol squinted in disquiet. “I’m fine Mom. I’m a big girl now.” Monica teased</p><p>Although she was being sarcastic, it still rang a note of pride. Monica may have not been her biological child, but she sure as hell was Carol’s daughter. She realized how much they were alike, with Monica’s current situation. They were the same disaster. </p><p>	Carol smirked. “You called me ‘Mom’,” </p><p>	“Well duh,” Monica replied as she attempted to jam all the cans into the one trash bag, “you are my mom.”</p><p>“Come on,” Carol was still beaming, “I’ll help you clean up a little, then we’ll go out for lunch,”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh you have got to be shitting me,” Carol let her head drop against the back of her chair.</p><p>“What’s that mean?” Monica pointed at the very much inconspicuous bright light flashing from the device Carol was trying to get to turn off.</p><p>She hit the device against her hand, fully aware everyone else in the restaurant was staring, “It means someone is most likely dying,” she sighed. “Okay, here,” Carol handed Monica her credit card, “Get whatever you want, this shouldn't take too long.” she scoffed and muttered about “perfect fucking timing as always”. “I’ll be back as soon as I can kiddo,” she squeezed Monica's shoulder before leaving, “Just no shopping sprees!” Carol called over her shoulder before her suit wrapped around her and she disappeared into the sky, leaving the crowd dumbfounded.</p><p>“The one day I’m happy to not be working I get an emergency call-” Carol complained as she picked up speed, “all the way across the fuckin universe!” she yelled as she whipped around a moon. She collected energy and jumped into the next star system. Carol sighed as she checked the location, she was close. </p><p>“Ugh, I could imagine anyone would want to be saved from here,” Carol rolled her eyes at the old, trashed, abandoned planet, “But no one should be out here in the first place,” she cautiously circled the floating orb of cracked rock searching for whoever needed her assistance. Carol halted as she saw a crashed Kree ship. </p><p>She gently landed on one of the ship’s wings and peered into the cracked glass. “Shit!” Carol duked, almost falling, in order to dodge some sort of green energy blast. She defensively raised her hands, ready to fight, as 4 more beams shot through the glass. “That’s a little dramatic,” Carol scoffed as she shook glass shards out of her hair. There was a loud thud. She looked up at what caused the noise. “You have got to be shitting me,” she instantly recognized the man in front of her<br/>
“Vers.” Carol groaned as he spoke, “I’ve longed to finally regain myself-”<br/>
“That’s a little creepy.”<br/>
He closed his eyes and tightened his jaw, “you are no less annoying- can I just get through ONE dramatic monologue?”<br/>
Carol crossed her arms, “Fine, Fine. Go ahead.”</p><p>He glared at her, “You ruined my life,” Carol bit her lip to try and keep her remark in, “After you sent me back to Hala, the Supreme Intelligence wasn’t very happy with my failure. They told me, if I killed you, I could get my spot back as Captain.” Carol let out a small laugh and the man narrowed his eyes. “But I could never catch up to you, and after all this time,” He pointed at his hammer-like weapon, the one which shot the strange energy, down at her, “I have finally found you. And I will kill you this time.”</p><p>Carol covered her mouth with one hand in mock-fear, then bent over laughing, which pissed him off even more, “sorry- I’m sorry Yon-Rogg,” she wheezed, “Gimme a sec’” He looked like he would pop a blood vessel,  “That, is the best joke I’ve heard in a long time, “I’m big and scary with my big scary glowy stick! I’m gonna kill you mblarr-!” </p><p>“Enough!” Yon-Rogg cut off her mockery, “It’s been long enough, I won’t prolong killing you any longer!”</p><p>“Yeah yeah,” she cracked her knuckles, “Bigger idiots have tried.’ her hair let up like a match, “I just wanna see what you bring to the table, because honestly, if it’s just your new outfit and anger stick, then you sir, will be in big trouble,” Carol threw a photon blast at him, “I’m sorry for your demotion, but I’m the-” He summoned up an energy shield and deflected Carol’s blast right back into her. Carol managed to catch herself before hitting the ground and charged back at him. “I honestly thought you’d be dead by now,” she huffed.</p><p>Yon-Rogg shot a blast at her and she rolled away with ease and landed a heavy kick in his stomach. When he staggered back, Carol spun around and clocked him with a charged punch. He swung at her head but she easily dogged the attack. Before he could try another hit, Carol flew up and using both fists, shot down strong energy beams, which Yon-Rogg held off with his own. Carol jumped back. The two stared at each other for a second.</p><p>“What even is that thing?” Carol dodged a blade of green light before diving down. She hit the metal of the ship and rolled away from another one of his blasts. “It isn’t doing you much good,” She crossed her arms against the strange metal of his weapon as he tried to force it down. </p><p>Yon-Rogg grunted with the effort. The Mighty Captain Marvel wouldn't go down easy. While she was focused on her arms holding him back, Yon-Rogg was able to raise a leg and kick her away. </p><p>Carol landed on a rock below the ship. She coughed, winded. “Oooookay,” she tried to catch her breath, “So he’s a little stronger than before,” Carol watched as he jumped down towards her, his weapon radiating a glow.  She quickly scrambled to her feet and dove away as the ground split under the force of Yon-Rogg’s landing. </p><p>Carol turned to face him once again but was stuck with a heavy hit onto the side of her head. She landed in the dirt, on her back once again. Yon-Rogg stood over her and raised his weapon to strike again. When it came down, Carol held the blunt end only a few inches away from her face and scowled.  She kicked his knee, then wrapped her legs around his arm and twisted his weapon out of his grasp. </p><p>Yon-Rogg stumbled backward. Carol raised herself back onto her legs, now in possession of his weapon, which was a lot bigger than it looked. She inspected the jewel impeded in the top part, “Olay good,” She said as she tapped the head of the weapon against her hand, “I thought that green light was from you,” </p><p>Frustrated, he ran at her with a knife. Carol bent her knees and held the weapon over her right shoulder as she combined the weapon with her own energy, “Batter up!” She easily hit Yon-Rogg back, but the impact caused a large explosion that Carol didn’t expect. They were both sent flying in opposite directions. </p><p>Carol tumbled before landing face down. “Oww,” she groaned. “I’m supposed to be in the sky, not eating dirt,” Carol shakily lifted herself onto one knee, where she was able to see the actual blast size. “Woah.” Yon-Rogg’s weapon was completely shattered, but the gem that was inside was floating in the middle of the crater, completely untouched. She saw Yon-Rogg lift himself onto his elbows. He was also looking at the gem. </p><p>Carol quickly regained herself and swooped in front of him, intercepting the glowing rock, “Nope, no shiny rock’s for bad guys.” she said as she pushed him back down. Carol let it float in her hand as she studied it. “Sorry I broke your little toy, nothing personal.” </p><p>Yon-Rogg took off his cracked helmet, “Why are you like this,” he groaned and rested his head back down on the ground. </p><p>Carol stretched as she retracted her helmet. “Alright, party’s over, if we don't leave soon this whole planet will explode,” she pointed down at the cracks forming in the rocks, “So I’ll let you choose what prison you go to, Hala-”</p><p>“Anywhere but Hala.” Carol could hear the fear in his voice’</p><p>	“Alright. I know a great place for people like you.”</p><p> </p><p>	“Really? Xandar?” Yon-Rogg complained.</p><p>	“Well you did say ‘anywhere’” Carol held a hand on his shoulder, “Plus, you most likely won’t be staying here that long,” 2 guards came to retrieve him, “They have over 100 beautiful prisons across this star system,” she aggressively patted him on the back as a farewell. </p><p>	“Will that be all, Ma’am?” A man in a Nova uniform asked her.</p><p>	Carol looked at the jewel in her hand, “Any clue what this is?” she showed him the glowing rock, “He tried to kill me with it,”</p><p>	The man shook his head, “No clue, but I could take it off your hands. Whatever it is will be safe in Xandar” Carol held it out for him to take but he couldn’t, “That's…. Odd.”</p><p>	Carol was startled, “I’m not doing that,” the small gem wouldn’t leave her hand, it just kept floating in the same spot. She frantically shook her hand, but it barely moved. “I don’t have time for this,” Carol tried to pry it off, but it just shot right back into the same position. </p><p>	A woman in a similar uniform approached after she heard the commotion, “What seems to be the problem?” </p><p>	`” Captain Marvel here is having issues with another space rock,” the man replied as Carol kept trying to shake it away, “It won’t leave her,” another Nova guard came over and held the rock as Carol tried to pull her hand away from it. It was a comical sight for everyone in the room to watch Captain Marvel herself telling 2 Nova guards to all pull on the count of 3. They all fell back, and for a second Carol thought it had worked. It hadn’t.</p><p>	The woman walked over to Carol, who now had her foot on the gem and was pushing it into the ground trying to separate it from her. Carol sat, defeated by a little rock. She looked up at the woman, and held her hand out for her to look at the rock, “Does it hurt at all?” The woman asked, poking at the rock.</p><p>	“No,” Carol looked up at her, “It’s just annoying.”</p><p>	“We’ll take some scans and see if we can figure out why it’s like this or how to get it off, but until then, there’s not much we can do,” </p><p>	Carol sighed. So much for “this won’t take long,”</p><p>	By the time she returned to the restaurant, it was dark and empty. She tried again to pry the stone away from where it floated. Nothing. Carol groaned and decided to head back to Monica’s apartment to apologize. “You had one job Danvers,” she told herself as she kicked a rock, “One job,”</p><p>	“Christ, Carol,” Monica walked over to the window that Carol was floating outside of, “You can’t just do that!” Monica slid the window open and Carol gently stepped in.</p><p>	“Sorry, it's just easier than the main door,” she shrugged, “How was dinner?” Carol flopped over the arm of Monica’s couch to rest her back against the cushions.</p><p>	“It was alright,” She replied, locking the window, “I came back home after an hour, didn’t know how long “won’t take long” is,” Monica didn’t sound mad. Good. “So who died?”</p><p>	Carol laughed, “No one died,” she cocked her head, “This time,” Monica sat down next to her, eager to hear the story. “But I did run into one of those Kree assholes I fought back in 95’” </p><p>	“You sound so old when you say it that way,” Monica mused.</p><p>	“Yeah,” Carol scoffed, “But I easily kicked his ass,” Carol sat right side up, “Then I accidentally blew up a planet, and ended up with this,” She showed Monica the stone, it was still levitating in the same spot.</p><p>	Monica tried to take it, but it snapped back into place, “Woah,” She poked it again, “Is that why you took 4 hours?”</p><p>	“Yep. sorry about that.”</p><p>	“Don’t be, another space rock falling in love with you is enough reason to miss dinner.” Carol looked relieved. “Plus, I brought back extra food just in case you came back, and eating is really expensive out here” She expressly stood up, “We can watch Back to the Future while we feast, I just rented it, and I’ve watched it like 8 times already.”</p><p>	Carol smiled. It felt good to be back with Monica. Everything from her cheeky smile to her snarky attitude told her that this is where she’s meant to be. Carol exhaled and relaxed as her suit retracted. She closed her hand around the stone. Whatever it was, it chose her.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you saw any spelling errors, no you didn't</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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